Case study: Global Energy Village 2019

Delegates: 30 delegates, who represented a strategic cross-section of industry experts from over seven countries

EnergyWise ventured to the city of Leeds with the Global Energy Village conference for the first time in 2019. The event, which is held annually, returned to the UK this April for the first time since 2012. The event was hosted at The Queens Hotel and brought together 30 international energy experts to compare existing Hydrogen projects, see and explore new innovative projects that are moving ahead, and allow visitors to network with others in their field.

The conference took the form of several keynote speeches which were led by industry experts including Denis Thomas, EU regulatory affairs and business development manager of Hydrogenics Europe, whose conversation topics delved into the key challenges and precedents in the development of the hydrogen market. A reception was also held for delegates at The Queens, allowing them to enjoy refreshments and another opportunity to network.

Leeds was chosen to host this year’s conference due to its developed H21 Hydrogen Roadmap programme, which provides a detailed engineering solution for converting 3.7 million UK homes and businesses from natural gas to hydrogen, in order to reduce carbon emissions. Piloting in Leeds, this project ensures that the city is a hub of innovative energy development in the UK, and ultimately provided the perfect location for the conference due to this.

The strategic choice of Leeds as a location was supported by the ConferenceLeeds team, who assisted the organisers by providing knowledge of the city and assisting with venue selection. Using their expertise and understanding of the events’ specific requirements, the ConferenceLeeds team led the organisers on a series of venue visits, and the selection was made to host the event at The Queens Hotel, which was a perfect fit for the conference with its accessible location, unique décor, delegate capacity and the excellent facilities on offer within the exhibition space.

The event was so successful that the EnergyWise team, who traditionally move the Global Energy Village conference annually, will be returning to Leeds for a second year with a larger version of the conference in 2020, alongside an additional event which will be taking place in Japan to coincide with the 2020 Summer Olympics.